Meet the Team 2016/2017

Dr M. May Seitanidi
Module Convenor & Blog Section Editor (Business-Civil Society Organisation Interactions)
M.M.Seitanidi@kent.ac.uk

May is passionate about reflection as a form of thinking and writing that raises awareness on the process of becoming responsible. All the modules that she designed and convenes in CSR at Kent Business School incorporate reflection as a learner-centred approach that develops self-awareness of thoughts, feelings, and actions. Students have the opportunity to develop a reflective report which deepens their theoretical learning in CSR, Business Ethics and Sustainability theories facilitating a deeper level of understanding about their own values and assumptions. Through reflection they learn to consider multiple perspectives in addressing social issues, a requirement for responsible actors in pluralistic societies.

Chiara Poliak
Editor-in Chief (Business-Government Interactions)
Business & Management Student (Stage Two)
cp501@kent.ac.uk

Business ethics as a discipline has become a very current topic in today’s society, as social expectations for companies to behave ethically rise, fuelled by the negative media coverage we are exposed to daily. Businesses are no longer seen as having obligations solely towards their shareholders, but also towards groups whose interests are closely linked to the activities of a company, known as stakeholders. The government is considered one of the most important stakeholder group, as it has the power to minimise the harmful impact to our society, by controlling business activities through legislation. The scandals that have plagued many companies in the last decade and that have entered the category of popular press, along with the responses of the affected companies prompted me to choose Corporate Social Responsibility as an optional module, in order to develop a more informed understanding of this “hot topic”.

The blog, along with the structure of the module (using the flipped learning approach and reflection as a core element) provides a very hands-on engagement with the material and allows for a deeper, richer understanding of the theory of CSR and of its application in our world. Working as the editor-in-chief has enabled me to develop solid relationships, both with my colleagues on the editorial team and with the guest speakers. The guest speakers have opened my eyes to some serious issues that must be dealt with, through a cooperative approach. This module has not only enriched my knowledge, but has also impacted my way of thinking and has led me to make more ethical choices.

Philip Nguyen
Blog Section Editor (Business-Consumer Interactions)
Business & Management Student (Stage Two)
pn85@kent.ac.uk

I decided to join the Editorial team to develop a deeper understanding of the topics within CSR, to challenge myself and to make use of my writing skills. In the past I have managed my own blog using Tumblr and so the role was rather fitting. I am very appreciative to have received this prestigious role as it has greatly improved my knowledge of business ethics and in particular, ethical issues surrounding business and consumer interactions, which has been rather useful for the in-class discussions and to interact with guest speakers during their presentations.

Businesses are becoming increasingly concerned with ethics and it has been enjoyable to understand why through exploring different stakeholder perspectives. The flipped learning approach has been a different but wonderful experience and I am grateful for the quality of the research led teaching which has kept me informed with the current affairs centred around business ethics. Taking this module has made me more aware of the issues that surround us on the daily, challenged my views and changed my perception of businesses. It has also taught me that we as individuals are accountable for our actions which may have consequences for society, and this has impacted my daily routine in that I am more mindful of my surroundings and actions.

Chengetai Garaiza
Blog Section Editor (Business-Employee Interactions)
Business & Management Student (Stage Two)
cg491@kent.ac.uk

My name is Chengetai Garaiza and I am studying Business and Management. I am a section editor mainly focusing on employees. I will be analysing what makes employees an important stakeholder and look at issues that affect employees such as discrimination. I chose to study CSR because I was intrigued by some of the topics such as bribery and child exploitation. After studying this module, it has made me fully aware of how my behaviour as an individual can have negative externalities on other people without me being fully aware of it. As a result, now I stop to think how my actions such as over consumption will affect others.

Studying CSR has helped shape my perspective of different issues and shift some of my values through the exposure of learning materials such as case studies and guest speaker talks. I also liked the concept of flipped learning as I got to learn from other students in my course. This gave me a whole new different perspective of different topics as we had the opportunity to discuss and disagree on different matters using business evidence and CSR models to support our arguments. In our everyday lives, we are surrounded by ethical dilemmas such as choosing whether to recycle, buy more clothing or tell a “white lie”. Sometimes we are ignorant to these factors if they do not cause immediate harm. For example, with telling a “white lie” we might see it as ok because we have taken on an egoistic approach to satisfy our own need. However, we fail to recognise that the person we have told the lie to be it our lecturers, employers or friends they are now having to make a decision based on deception which is unjust. Therefore, studying CSR has helped me to know how to respond to situations when I am faced with an ethical dilemma to minimise harm. After studying this module I feel that I am in a better position to analyse and anticipate the consequences of my actions and find innovative solutions to rectify my actions.

Jayanee Basil
CSR Module Assistant (Business-Supplier Interactions)
Accounting & Management Student (Stage Two)
jb592@kent.ac.uk

My name is Jay and I am a module assistant for CB754 Corporate Social Responsibility. I am in my second year studying Accounting and Management so CB754 is not part of my course. However, I have learnt so much from watching the speakers, lecture slides online and participating in seminars. CSR has made me understand that it is a significant element within a business. In fact I gave an CSR idea in an assessment centre which made myself stand out so I am glad I had the opportunity to learn from May and the speakers. One of my favourite moments is when I learnt about TRAID and the retail industry and how the environmental policies improve the ethical issues such as landfill and child labour.

Louise Frith
Student Reflection Guidance Advisor
Student Learning Advisor
L.J.Frith@kent.ac.uk

Louise Frith is a Student Learning Adviser at the University of Kent. She teaches reflective practice, integration of theory with practice and reflective writing to students across the disciplines, including; Computing, Sports Therapy, Social Work, Professional Practice and Business Studies.

Louise initiated the University of Kent’s learning and teaching project on Personal Development Planning which led to the introduction of an online portfolio ( MyFolio https://myfolio.kent.ac.uk/myfolio/ ). This is designed to support students to record their activities and reflect on them.

Louise is a member of the Centre for Recording Achievement http://www.recordingachievement.ac.uk/ . She contributed to NARN the National Action Research Network on Researching and Evaluating Personal Development Planning and E-portfolios and she published a paper, ‘How do different models of PDP influence the embedding of e-portfolios’ in http://www.aldinhe.ac.uk/ojs/index.php?journal=jldhe&page=index .

Louise is currently working with staff and research students in the School of Computing to develop an App to support students’ reflective writing.